LETHBRIDGE, Alta. — Comparatively speaking, the Winnipeg Wesmen kept the drama to a minimum Saturday night.

After hanging on and surviving the night before, the Wesmen men's basketball team took care of business early and held the Lethbridge Pronghorns at bay, earning its third straight Canada West conference win with an 86-74 triumph that kept the No. 5-ranked Wesmen near the top of the conference standings. 

Alberto Gordo scored a team-high 21 points as the Wesmen (5-1) opened a double-digit first-quarter lead and rarely let the Pronghorns sniff a comeback after that. 

Where on Friday the Wesmen let Lethbridge linger into the final seconds of the game in an 87-84 win, the next night they got out early, taking a 26-16 lead after a quarter and extending that lead to 15 90 seconds into the second. The Pronghorns would trip that lead down to four at 38-34 with 3:40 to go, but an 11-2 run from there restored the double-digit advantage and the visitors would go into halftime up 49-38.

Lethbridge would not get closer than eight the rest of the way, and the Wesmen led by as many as 17 in the fourth. 

Donald Stewart added 16 points and six rebounds for the Wesmen, who will be back on the road next weekend visiting the Mount Royal Cougars in Alberta. Shawn Maranan chipped in 14 points and five assists, and Emmanuel Thomas had 11 points and a career-high 12 rebounds and two blocks. 

The Wesmen, who were out-rebounded 42-34, shot 50 per cent from the field (32-64) and made 11 of 32 from three.

The Pronghorns (0-6) were led by Kymani Pollard's game-high 27 points. Jack-Henry Fox-Grey scored 13 points and Shae Gibb had 11. 

Lethbridge went 25-for-62 from the field and 7-for-27 from three. 

The Wesmen sit in a tie with Brandon in second place by win percentage in the Canada West, behind 4-0 Regina and ahead of 3-1 Victoria and UNBC, all of which have already had a bye week.